TCS CEO has received a 6% salary hike, increasing his compensation from ₹25.6 crores to ₹28.1 crores, according to latest reports. This salary increase comes at a time when the IT services giant is implementing significant workforce restructuring measures. The CEO's substantial pay rise highlights the company's continued focus on leadership compensation despite broader organizational changes affecting other employee categories.
TCS is facing significant criticism from employees after implementing average salary hikes of around 5% in its latest appraisal cycle, with several workers claiming their actual take-home salaries have fallen despite receiving increment letters. According to reports from Moneycontrol, multiple TCS employees said their revised compensation packages were lower than expected even after appraisals. One employee told Moneycontrol anonymously, "Our annual CTC had fallen by ₹1,000-₹10,000 despite receiving appraisal letters." Another employee who reportedly belongs to the C3A grade said, "Salary actually decreased by ₹3,000." A third employee quoted in the report added, "Mine decreased at C band."
TCS is currently undergoing a comprehensive 4-level transformation aimed at creating a leaner organizational structure and focusing on high-skill workforce capabilities, according to recent industry reports. The transformation strategy emphasizes fewer layers, faster decision-making, and increased importance on actual skills and productivity. This strategic shift comes as the IT industry experiences rapid changes, with generic roles seeing declining demand while specialized skills in Salesforce, Cloud, and AI are experiencing rapid growth. The transformation is expected to significantly impact career growth, role opportunities, and future prospects for TCS employees.
According to TCS's latest annual report published on May 16, the average annual increase for junior and mid-level employees for financial year 2026 was in the range of 4.5-7 per cent. The company stated that top performers received double-digit increments in India, while the total increase after accounting for promotions and other event-based compensation revisions was 5-8 per cent. However, employees are now reporting that changes in compensation structures, lower variable payouts and restructuring of allowances reduced their revised compensation packages. As per reports, several workers claimed that revised allowances, salary restructuring and lower variable pay components affected the final salary credited to employees.
The compensation issues have surfaced at a time when India's IT sector continues to struggle with weak discretionary spending, delayed client decisions and pressure on profit margins, forcing companies like TCS to manage salary payouts more tightly. According to Moneycontrol, several employees reportedly claimed that although appraisal hikes were announced, their overall annual compensation figures either barely changed or actually declined after revised salary structures were implemented. One of the biggest concerns raised was that gratuity was no longer reflected in the displayed cost-to-company calculations, making compensation packages appear smaller on paper. Employees fear this could affect future salary negotiations while switching jobs because recruiters may evaluate lower visible compensation figures instead of previous salary structures.
